2025 AD:
·
“There’s
nothing here to eat!”
·
“I
don’t like asparagus!”
·
“Why
can’t we keep fresh bags of chips in this house?”
·
“I
could go for a package of Double-Stuffed Oreos!”
1400 BC:
·
“Weren’t the cemeteries
large enough in Egypt so that you had to take us out here in the wilderness to
die? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt? Back in Egypt didn’t we
tell you this would happen? Didn’t we tell you, ‘Leave us alone here in Egypt –
we’re better off as slaves in Egypt than as corpses in the wilderness.’” [Ex.14:11-12]
[All quotes are from The Message Bible, unless otherwise noted.]
·
The
water of Marah is bitter, “So what are we
supposed to drink?” [Ex. 15:24]
·
“Why didn’t God let us die in comfort in
Egypt where we had lamb stew and all the bread we could eat?” [Ex.16:3]
Discontentment is always present! It seems to be part of the human condition to never be content with what we have, but to always want more or better.
Oh! If we could only master what the Apostle Paul refers to in Philippians 4:11-12,
I’ve learned by
now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with
little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being
happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have,
wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.
If you’ve read the early books of the Old Testament, then you know that the Israelites Moses was leading out of Egypt - across the wilderness and into the Promised Land - WERE CHRONIC COMPLAINERS!
At the least inconvenience, they complained against Moses and God! They quickly forgot the blessings that God had given them:
ü escape from slavery and
mistreatment
ü being given great
wealth by the Egyptians as they left the land of Egypt
ü the promise that a new
land would be theirs and they would inherit houses that they hadn’t built and
crops that they hadn’t planted.
ü the victory that God
gave them over Amalek
ü when God sweetened the
water of Marah
Those of us who have read this part of Israel’s history tend to shake our heads as we read of the repetitive grumbling of this half-a-million people trying to find their way through a wilderness land. We wonder how they could be so obstinate! Why were they so quick to abandon ship and turn against their more-than-competent leadership! We ‘tsk, tsk’ as we read with condescension at this pathetic horde of people.
AND YET…
Aren’t we just the same?
Don’t we get upset with God when things don’t go the way we think they should?
Don’t
we complain when our prayers aren’t answered; or aren’t answered in the way we
desired?
Don’t
we run hot-n-cold in our faith while expecting God to excuse our behavior and
bless us anyway?
Do we really hold the moral high ground?
Are
we doing the best that we can do?
Do
we humbly submit our plans to God and then wait for His response, direction or
approval?
By virtue of writing this blog, I indicate that I fall short. I complain and get upset with the way things turn out. I don’t always submit to His sovereignty. I complain. I can be a grouch – in spite of acknowledging how much God has done for me.
_________________________________________
God gave the children of Israel daily manna. It appeared in the early morning as the frost began to lift. The people were to gather two quarts for each member of their family. They were told not to gather more than they needed for any given day. But, of course, some gathered a lot of extra! Hoarders, I suppose! The next morning, the extra they had gathered was wormy and had become putrid! LESSON LEARNED THE HARD WAY!
Only on Friday were they instructed to gather twice as much! This would prevent them from having to work on the Sabbath so that they could focus on worshipping God and guess what – it didn’t spoil or get wormy on the Sabbath!! Others went out on the Sabbath to gather their manna for the day. But no manna fell on the Sabbath! You only went hungry once and then discovered the value of listening to and obeying God’s Word!
When the Israelites became weary with the manna, they complained to Moses. God overheard their complaints and promised them meat. That evening flocks of quail flew in and landed in the camp. The people killed and ate quail until they were nearly sick!
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Now let’s consider ourselves.
We live in what is described as the wealthiest nation the world has ever known. We are the envy of the entire world! When the Biden administration opened the doors to our nation and welcomed people to come, they came by the millions – flooding into our nation with the hopes of inheriting the wealth that causes SO MANY to envy us!
Yet, we never apply the scriptures that talk about the wealthy to ourselves. We reserve those passages for the exorbitant wealthy! But to the world – WE ARE THE EXORBITANT WEALTHY! Yet we register depression higher than any other nation. We consume more anti-depressants than any other nation. We observe an ever-growing rise in violence and crime especially in our cities. Our government – which is recognized as one of the best systems ever developed – is nearly deadlocked in divergent views of solving our national and political problems! Hatred for various groups is openly expressed as part of our high priority for ‘free speech’. And – except for some sign of recovery since the death of Charlie Kirk – the Church is shrinking and losing its impact on a culture that is decomposing.
_______________________________________________________
Is
our situation really any different than the Israelites? Although we feel that we deserve the global
status that we hold, do we really? Have we earned it? Are we better than the
people of other nations based purely on the fact that we were born in America?
SURELY NOT! We hold our current position as a blessing, yet we only designate
one day a year to giving Him thanks for these many blessings.
Kind and gracious God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Convict us that with greater wealth comes greater responsibility.
Of those of us who follow You, help us to recognize that although You are the king of the universe, You came to serve! Awaken us to the difference we could make if we lived less focused on adding to our own wealth and more focused on helping those – near and far – who have needs that we could easily meet.
Give us a love for the poor, destitute, struggling! Open our hearts to their pain and sorrow! Catalyze us to give what we’re capable of while denying ourselves. May our compassion set us apart from the heartless and uncaring. May our generosity cause people to praise and serve You! And enable us to maintain humility as we give!
May we sleep better, live with greater joy and experience the satisfaction of knowing that others are thriving because we cared enough to come alongside them in their hour of need!
For Your Kingdom’s sake – Amen!
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